CHENNAI:Even as the country is losing natural resources at an alarming rate, bio-diversity remains nobody’s priority and everybody just keeps talking about it, but does nothing, said Hem Pande, additional secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Tuesday.
Managing the rich bio-diversity of the country is very difficult due to population explosion and lack of funds, he said, speaking at a workshop organised by the Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law, a joint-venture between the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) of India and Norway.
The workshop was aimed at sharing experiences on the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), an objective of the Convention on Bio-Diversity, by which corporates utilising natural resources are liable to return some part of the revenue to the locals.
Pande said through ABS, funds could be made available for upkeep of biodiversity. Pointing out that India spent as much as USD 70 billion every year on ice-creams, Pande wondered if spending on bio-diversity should be difficult.
The Norwegian deputy Minister of Climate and Environment also spoke during the function.